InfoBarrel Forum-A Welcome for Every InfoBarrel Writer, We Need YOU!

This forum is totally different from any forum you have ever visited before. It is not full of self-opinionated people trying to push their affiliate links to so-called guru programs. You will have to look hard to find any links at all.

There are about 30 or 40 people who make posts on a regular basis and another 20 who post occasionally. There are over 10,000 people writing for infobarrel and everyone on the forum would just love to see more of those writers making contributions on the forum.

Do you Read Without Contributing?

There are usually far more people reading a forum, than ever make posts there and some people are happy to do that, to 'lurk' if you like. Sometimes it is easy to get the idea that it is some kind of 'closed shop' where new people are not welcome.

I felt like that, so I can understand that point of view. The infobarrel forum is really NOT like that though. Whenever anybody makes a post to introduce themselves they are made very welcome. We all want to have more points of view expressed on our forum.

Would Anyone be Interested in You?

YES THEY WOULD.

Everyone who posts on the Infobarrel forum is there to listen, to learn and to give advice to others if it is something they know something about. Fellow infobarrel writers on the forum have given me massive support.

If you are depressed over low or non-existent earnings, post about it and everyone will be running to help you over your bad patch, like parent blackbirds fussing over a chick that has fallen out of the nest.

But Everyone Who Posts on the Forum is in the Top 50 on InfoBarrel…

Yes…But, which came first?

The people on the Infobarrel forum are the ones near the top of the current writing contest because they all learn from each other and motivate each other. Come on and join the club.

We want to learn from you too, we want you to help us to do better, it's not just philanthropy. Yes we want to help you but we know that the more people who contribute to the Infobarrel forum the more we will all learn and the more money we will all earn. Learn and Earn.

How Do You Introduce Yourself?

There is an Introductions heading. Just click Introductions, near the bottom of the sidebar, then click New Topic and tell us a small bit about yourself.

You might just say, 'I am AlbertXEinstein, I am new here' or you might tell us a bit more, like where you live, or what you do. No matter. Anything is a start and everyone will welcome you. The welcomes may be brief, but they are sincere.

Check out what other infobarrel authors have written to introduce themselves. You do not need to be terribly original or witty, just make yourself known, tell us you are there. You will see how welcome they were made after their introductory post.

What's In It For Me? (WIFM?)

There is an undeniable social aspect to the Infobarrel forum. This is only a minor factor, but it is still helpful, at times, to be able to interact with other infobarrel writers who understand exactly where you are coming from because they are coming from the same place.

You will find answers to questions you may have, and it does not matter if someone has asked that question before. Someone will answer you in a helpful and supportive manner.

You will be able to help grow the infobarrel community and have some of your own ideas taken up and included in the website. The site administrators read the forum posts and contribute when relevant.

Recent suggestions made in the forum include a Random Author Spot on the front page, an Infobarrel sidebar widget to display your own Infobarrel posts on your blog or website and a resizable box to type in when submitting articles.

You will learn tips and tricks a lot more easily in the forum than anywhere else on the Infobarrel site.

Do you want to wrap text around a picture? Ask in the forum

Wonder if pictures are really necessary? Just ask other infobarrel writers in the forum

How do you use social bookmarking sites to best effect? Somebody in the forum will have done it and be willing to share their knowledge

How Could YOU Help Other Writers?

Everyone has certain unique knowledge. Knowledge related to writing articles. I know that certain websites are a total waste of time to earn from, but are valuable for links into your articles. Only this morning another infobarrel writer told people on the forum about a tool he uses to judge search engine rankings, without searching directly.

You also have knowledge that others do not have, knowledge that will help us all earn more money.

Are the People on the Forum Really Such a Bunch of Philanthropists?

Yes and No.

Yes, they have philanthropic reasons to be active on the Infobarrel forum.

No, they are there, partly, to help grow the Infobarrel website, which means their own (and your) earnings will grow at the same time.

There is a very active thread on the forum about the desirability of allowing contributors to post their links and images at the end of every post they make. Not one of the people contributing to this thread has argued for 'signature links'. Every single contributor has argued against them, even though such links are almost universal in other forums.

The main argument against is that 'undesirables' would then be attracted and post spam or two word 'I agree' type posts just to have their link posted. Most people feel that this would detract from the main discussion and support purposes of the Infobarrel forum.

How Has the Forum Helped ME?

I have gained massive insight into basic search engine optimisation, ways to get Google to pay more attention to my articles. I only joined InfoBarrel in late June. I wrote my first 10 articles and became pre-approved on 1st July.

An article I wrote on 2nd July was on page 1 of a Google search 8 days later because I used ideas I picked up on the Infobarrel forum. I asked questions, mainly about images and included what I learned in my article.

I used to teach Chemistry and one of the ways in which teachers identify students who are going to learn a lot and do well is that those students ask the most questions, so I asked questions, found the answers from other Infobarrel writers in the forum and incorporated what I learned into my writing.

Comments

I LOVE reading articles about Info Barrel like this! I think they are definitely highly motivating.....I think people should consider contributing to the forum, but, on the same token, there are ALOT of nuggets of great information to be found there....they are neglecting an amazing resource if they don't at least visit occasionally :)

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Just like forum signatures, I'm torn about this one, as well...
"PMs would be very handy sometimes"
There are times where I wish we had PMs, however, and I'm going off of what I saw over at eHow, the site was so glitch ridden that, even with PMs, the site was still borderline impossible to use....
IF we are to get a PM system, I'd definitely hope the Admins would ensure that all the kinks and glitches are worked out beforehand....the benefit of growing a site like this slowl, yet steadily, is that they can really identified issues and flaws and deficiencies in the system, every step of the way, as the implement new functions and features....
Info Barrel is approaching growth the RIGHT way, that's for sure...

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Thanks for this really well written and informative article. Many people will just 'pop in' post and article and go. There is so much more to communities like Infobarrel but only if people participate and get involved. As a 'newbie' to Infobarrel I find articles like this inspiring and encouraging. Good stuff!